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On board the frigate Ventôse hunting cocaine traffickers

2024-02-02T13:50:25.484Z

Highlights: The French navy is tracking suspicious boats on the drug route, between Latin America and Europe via Africa. In 2023, its operations enabled the interception of 30 tonnes of narcotics. The Ventôse and its 113 sailors were being shaken for nothing. With waves of three and a half meters and wind gusts of 35 knots, no go fast, full of bales of cocaine or not, would have been crazy enough to take to the sea. The action having become momentarily impossible, the commander decided to place his surveillance frigate sheltered from the wind, on the nearby island of Curaçao.


REPORT - In the Caribbean Sea, the French navy is tracking suspicious boats on the drug route, between Latin America and Europe via Africa. In 2023, its operations enabled the interception of 30 tonnes of narcotics.


  • Special correspondent on the “Ventôse”

The swell had strengthened.

With waves of three and a half meters and wind gusts of 35 knots, the

Ventôse

and its 113 sailors were being shaken for nothing.

With this weather, no go fast, full of bales of cocaine or not, would have been crazy enough to take to the sea. The helicopter on board could still fly.

But it was impossible to launch the Etraco (commando transport boat), the large black zodiac responsible for boarding the traffickers' speedboats, without risking hitting it on the steel hull of the ship.

The action having become momentarily impossible, the commander decided to place his surveillance frigate sheltered from the wind, on the nearby island of Curaçao.

The commissioner made arrangements with this Dutch territory for the stopover.

The doctor captain gave, in the petty officers' cafeteria, a conference on the history and various attractions of this tourist island, discovered by Amerigo Vespucci in 1499, and today connected to Amsterdam...

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Source: lefigaro

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